Me-too Mitt in the last of the debates

What if they held a foreign policy debate and only one of the candidates showed up? That's what we're left to wonder in the wake of Monday night's final candidate debate in Boca Raton, Fla.

For 90 minutes, President Barack Obama explored the accomplishments and challenges of U.S. policy. Someone sitting in the chair reserved for Republican nominee Mitt Romney -- we'll call him Me-too Mitt -- offered up responses that agreed with the president's policies, while regularly throwing in the terms "peace" and "tumult."

Me-too Mitt used Monday's debate to agree with the president's opposition to sending troops into Syria. Of course, that runs counter to what the other Mitt Romney told CBS News in an interview in August.

Me-too Mitt also said troops will be out of Afghanistan by 2014, period -- though previously he'd left open a longer stay by saying he would consult with the generals on the ground.

The bravado on China was toned down, and instead we heard that "they could be a partner."

And despite candidate Romney's tough talk on the campaign trail on Iran and Israel, did anyone watching Monday hear anything from the challenger that left the impression he would go about dealing with those countries in drastically different ways than the incumbent?

On the administration's forthrightness on the murder of four Americans in Libya on Sept. 11, which is one area where Obama could have been put on the defensive, Romney was teed up by moderator Bob Schieffer on the night's first question -- and let it pass.

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That was the first sign of what was largely a vexing performance.

One issue on which we would have welcomed Romney suddenly mimicking the incumbent is on defense spending. But on that front at least, the GOP nominee stuck with his proposal to spend $2 trillion beyond what the Pentagon has requested.

Obama's performance wasn't without flaws -- notably in failing to acknowledge that he, too, pursued a policy of keeping residual forces in Iraq. But in the end, the president easily won a debate that played to his strengths.

The Romney who showed up tried not to lose while emphasizing peace and security to appeal to female voters. And as he heads out on the campaign trail, we can't help but wonder which Romney will show up next.